Tuesday, February 27, 2024
South African Airways (SAA) acknowledges the incident involving one of its aircraft and a potential runway situation on Friday, February 23, 2024, at OR Tambo International Airport. This occurred between Lufthansa flight LH573, bound for Frankfurt, and SAA flight SA422 arriving from Port Elizabeth.
The Lufthansa Boeing 747-8, scheduled to depart from runway 03L at 20:16, experienced a delay due to an approaching storm. Consequently, it was instructed to vacate the runway. Following this, the SAA Airbus A320, which had landed earlier, was authorized to cross runway 03L and proceed to its designated terminal.
Upon initial examination by SAA, it was determined that there was no runway incursion as suggested by certain media reports. Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) have verified that the footage circulating was manipulated, with a time lapse of approximately five minutes compressed into just 38 seconds.
SAA’s Flight Operations and Safety Department, in conjunction with safety departments of relevant stakeholders, have conducted thorough internal and collaborative safety assessments and investigations. These confirm that there was no aircraft taking off during the time indicated in the video caption.
SAA, along with its aviation partners, maintains stringent safety protocols and implements strategies to mitigate any potential risks to passengers and aircraft.
SAA Interim CEO, Prof. John Lamola says, “SAA’s flight deck crew are trained routinely to handle all situations that may occur in the air or on the ground, which include runway incursions. SAA confirms that there was no runway incursion or risk of any occurring as shown by the video on social media.”
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Monday, April 29, 2024
